Indicating device



SePt- 15, 1959 M. BRUNENGRABER 2,903,807

INDICATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 9. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 za Jr e, G 43 IN V EN TOR. nen qraer Sept- 15, 1959 M. BRUNENGRABE 2,9o3,8o7

INDICATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1953 IN V EN TOR. lllaz Brunei: raer ication entitled United States Patent O INDICATING DEVICE Mates Brunengraber, Gmaha, Nebr. Application November 9, 1953, SerialV No. 390,855

6 Claims. (Cl. 40-414) This invention relates to bracelet calendars ofthe type described in applicanfs earlier United States patent appli- Bracelet Calendar, Serial Number 2,559,211, issued July 3, 1951.

It is an object of this invention to provide a calendar of this type which can be much more rapidly assembled 'than heretofore, as the screw portions of the earlier calendar which hold the crowns in place must be placed in assembly slowly and with many motions.

It is therefore an object to provide a calendar assembly including crowns which can be each inserted witha single motion and which become locked in place by the insertion into the assembly of a member havinghook or yoke poi'tions', the hook member forming an otherwise necessary part of the assembly in that it -serves the further 'purpose of attaching a calendar unitrto a-bracelet attachment pin of a watch.

' A still further object is to provideva calendar unit 'including a casing, a roller having the days of the week thereon, a roller cover member, two crowns, and a hook member as above described, the construction of all these parts being such that they are held in assembly by the insertion of the hook or yoke member which is placed .in the assembly last.

A still further object is to provide an assembly as immediately above described which has two rollers disposed end to end, each roller bearing suitable numerals Whereby together they indicate the day Vof the month.

A still further object is to provide an assembly as described having improved means for preventing the jrollers from rotating in undesred directions and for holdingl said rollers from rotating at undesired times as might otherwise sometimes happen due to engagement of the crowns with the skin or With clothing.

Still another object is to provide the rotation arrest- 'ing mechanisrn as described in the last paragraph in which one cooperative pol'tion thereof is attached to a respective roller and the other cooperative portion thereof is attached to said cover member, whereby rapid assembly and durable construction is achieved.

A still further object resides in the provision of the roller having on its outer side many flat surfaces for more readability, displaying the days or the date numerals.

A still further object is to provide a calendar as described, each set of which has a lens in an opening therein through which the rollers can be seen; particularly, it is an object to provide a lens which magnifies for improved readability of a calendar.

Other and further objects and advantages of the p'resent invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the principles of the invention and a mode in which I have contemplated applying'those principles.

Other embodiments of the invention embodyingV the same or equivalent principles may be used and structuralchanges may be made as'desired by those skilled the lens 18 is a magnifing lens.

p 2,903,807 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 Mice in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. w

Figure 1 is a view partly in cross section of the date indicating calendar unit.

Figure 2 is a view partly in cross section of the day indicating calendar unit.

Figure 3 is a top plan view' of a watch and portions of a bracelet and showing the day and date indicating calendar units between the watch and the bracelet.

Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the various parts in a calendar unit assembly. i i

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 5-15 of Figure 2.

Figure V6 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

In Figure 3 is shown an over-all view of the calendar units of this invention showing their attachment to a watch 5. Attached to either side of the watch are housing or casing members 10 and 11.

The housing 11 is designed for displaying indicia indicating the days of the week through a magnifying lens 18. The assembly attached to the opposite side of the watch indicated generally at 10 also has a magnifying lens 18 through which are displayed numerical indicia for showing the day of the month. Each of these assembly units 10 and 11 has means for attachment to the bracelet pins'of a watch and also means for attachment to a bracelet.

Referring to Fgures 3 and 4 the casing member is shown in inverted position at 10. To this primary part each of the other parts are added one by one. A closed area is shown at 12. An open area through which most of the other parts of the unit are inserted as they are assembled is shown at the upper side of the casing 10 in Figure 4. As it is held in the hand for assembly, this open area will lie uppermost. However, as worn on the wrist `and as shown in Figure 3, the closed area 12 is uppermost.

The surface 12 is provided with a window opening 14. The opening 14 has beveled surfaces or edges shown at 16 in Figures 4 and 5, which are so formed as to be complementary to beveled edges 20 of a magnifying lens 18.

It will be seen from the disclosure in the drawing that the lens 18 inserted into the window opening 16 is prevented from passing completely through the casing 'and is held in place by the elements vand members of the device which are later added.

The casing member 10 is approximately cylindrica'l in shape and is provided at each of its ends 39 with a circular opening such 'as is shown at 40. The ends 39 are projected into a pair of Shoulders 64 which extend 'at a substantially right angl'e to the plane of the ends 39. The Shoulders 64 tenninate each in an arm 62 which extend outwardly and at a substantial right angle to the Shoulders 64. These arms 62 provide carrying means for a pin 66. This pin can be detachable by spring or any other desired means to and from the arms 62.

The functions of these elements Will be described later as the parts of the unit are assembled. A roller member 22 is of prismatic formation its vends being seven sided polygons. Seven surfaces 24 are thus provided upon which indicia or legends may be written. These indicia are the seven days of the week, one day name inscribed on each side.

Instead of printing indicia directly upon the roller 22, the side surfaces of the prism may be covered with an aluminum or other foil which may present a more desirable surface for printing.

' The roller 22 is so postioned that these indicia may be read throughv the lens 18 and may be very tiny when Means hereinafte'r to be described are provided for placing a selected day inl dicia so that it may be read through the lens 18 and for changing it at will.

The roller portion 22 is provided at each of its ends with a cylindrical orifice 46 which extends along its axis. This orifice 46 is circular in cross section with the exception of a flattened portion 48. It may be of any noncircular formation. The importanceof its form lies in the fact that it is complemental to a member later described which is inserted within it for rotation in unison and for the prevention of relative rotation between these two members.

The end portions of the member 24 are each provided with seven ratchet teeth 44. These teeth each comprise a substantially triangular portion, raised from the level end surface of the cylinder. At one edge, as at 41, the 'tooth is raised only slightly. At the opposite edge of the tooth, its thickness becomes appreciably greater.

W .These teethare to be engaged successively by a later described pawl.

This cylinder member now fitted into the casing 10.

iA crown 26, circular in cross section, has a knurled portion 28 for grasping with the fingers for effecting rotation. Adjacent to the knurled portion 28 of the crown 26 is a reduced portion 30, also circular in cross section.

Adjacent the portion 30 is an annular groove 32 formed :by a still further reduction in the circumference of the crown member 26. This annular groove 32 is formed between the member 30 and a member 34, the diameter ,of which is substantially that of the adjacent member 30.

Adjacent the member 34 is a projection 36. This projection is partially circular in cross section, there being a fiattened side 38.

The formation of the projection 38 is complemental to that of the orifice 46 in the roller member 24. It was said above that the orifice 46 could be of any non-circular formation. The same is true of the projection 36. The

:point of importance is that the configuration of the pro- 'jection 36 conforms in a complementary manner to that of the orifice 46, so that rotation and quiesence of the vevident, as will also the function of the teeth 44.

After the placement of the crown 26, the cover 50 is then snapped into place. This cover member 50 is comprised of covering apron 52 which shields the roller 24,

holding it in place and protecting it from undesirable contacts. This covering apron 52 is resilient in nature.

.The cover member 50 also is provided with a pair of members 54, one at each end.

These members 54 may be stamped from the same piece of material and be integral with the cover member l50. Then when members 54 are bent into place, members 50 and 54 may be considered as a portion of a cyli-nder with the members 54 lyng in the plane of its ends.

When in place, the edges 53 of the cover 50 will abutt the shoulder 60 of the casing 10, and the adjacent area 63 of the cover apron will resiliently press against the interior surface 61 of the arms 62.

The device just described will be seen as the day denoting unit and is attached to the watch and to the bracelet in the relationship shown in Figure 3.

In Figures 1, 3 and 6 are shown the date denoting device which is attached to the bracelet pin on the side of the watch opposite the day denoting device.

The assembling of this mechanism is in many ways equivalent to that described for the day denoting device.

VA yoke member 11 carries a lens 37. A roller 23 carries flat polygonal sides or surfaces 25. In cross section this roller is polygonal having 10 sides for accommodating the numeral digits zero to nine. This roller is divided into two distinct sections, each operated from an opposite end of the device by means of the knurled stems 27. This stem carries a flattened portion shown at 21 in Figure 6. This fiat section is complemented by a flat surface 19 within the rollers 23 so that rotation of the stem 27 will cause a selected digit to appear in view through the lens member 37 and likewise on the opposite end a selected numeral digit can be made to appear.

The assembling and relatonship of the stem 27, the cover 53 and the snap 72 is identical with that shown in Figure 2. Ratchet teeth 43 are engaged by a pawl member 58 in identical fashion to that above described in connection with Figure 2. The difference lies in the number of ratchet teeth 43.

There will be ten of these to correspond to the numeral dgits zero to nine While in Figure 2, seven only were necessary for the accommodation of each one of seven vdays of the week.

A further difference between Figures 1 and 2 lies in the fact that the roller member 23 and its corresponding attaehed portion is adapted to slide into circular openings 40 provided one at each end 39 of the cylindrical portion of the casing 10.

The roller 24 is provided at either end with a series of radially extending raised portions 44. These portions 44 are comparatvely thin in thickness at one edge and increase in thickness toward the opposite edge as shown vat 43.

The roller portion 22 is also provided at each end with a partially cylindrical opening 46. These orifices 46 have flattened portions 48. When the device is assembled the roller is inserted into the yoke 10 and then the reduced and protruding studs 36 of the crowns 26 are inserted through the openings 40 at the ends of the yoke. When this occurs, the protruding stud portions 36 insert themselves into the openings 46 within the roller 24.

It will be seen that the non-circular stud portions 36 find their complements in the non-circular formation of the orifices 46.

The cover portion 50 is now fixed into place. This cover portion is comprised of a shield 52 which encloses and protects the interior portions of the device; a pair of resilient flanges 63 and edge portions 53. The cover member is provided at its ends with a pair of ring-like 'members 54. These members are substantially circular in formation. However, the circular formation is broken as shown at 56 and the opposite broken portion 58 is curved inwardly to form a tooth or pawl.

When assembled, it can now be seen that the crown member engages the roller in such a way as to cause rotation of the roller when the crown is activated as With the fingers. The pawl 58 is adapted to ride over the surface 44 and drop into the grooves 45 which are formed therebetween in a ratchet and pawl relationship.

The members 54 are resilient in nature and are formed in the shape of a ring. The ring is cut at 56 and one end of the cut ring thus formed is bent inwardly at 58 to form 'a pawl. When assembled the pawl 58 is in a position to contact one of the teeth 44. The pawl 58, during the rotation of the cylinder, 22, will ride up onto the lower edge 41 of a tooth 44 and upon further rotation will spring into the interstice 45 lyng between a tooth 44 and the tooth adjacent.

Reverse rotation is then prevented because of the abutment of the pawl 58 against the abrupt surface 43 of the tooth just traversed. It will thus be seen that rotation in one direction is permitted because of the inclined surface provided on the tooth and reverse rotation is prevented as described.

It will of course be understood that the formation of the teeth 44 as described has its duplicate at the opposite end of the roller 24; Ifwill also beunderstood that the crown menibci' 26 also has' its duplicate for insertion at the opposite end of the casing 10. As a result, the roller member 'may be fotated to any indicia or day indicating legend as desird. c'ari be done from either end of thev asembly or with e'itherjhand, since rotation of either crown produces rotatio of the roller member.

It will, thereforefbe appreciated. that this invention provides aV calendar devicephaving many dersrable features. The provision of the radially extending grooves 45 in the end face of the roller in combination With the pawl element urged axially into engagement therewith, is highly advantageous in that the position of the axis of the roller relative to the pawl element is not critical, as would be the case with a pawl element urged radially toward the roller. It `is a further feature of the construction that the pawl elements 58 are carried by the cover member 50 through the portions of the ring members 54 which are formed integrally with the cover 50. A further feature of the construction is that after the ring-shaped members 54 are cut at 56, portions thereof serve as hook elements engaging over the shaft to limit displacement of the cover 50 relative to the casing 10.

Another feature of the invention is that the opposite side edges of the curved sheet metal cover 50 are sprung into engagement with internal surfaces of the casing to lock the cover in position.

A still further feature of the construction is that the generally C-shaped elements 72 define spaced portions arranged to fit into the grooves 32 of the crowns on opposite sides of the axis of the crowns to lock the crowns against axial movement. The C-shaped elements 72 additionally define hooks which engage over the roller-journalling shaft means defined by the shanks of the crowns, to lock the connector 76 to the casing, as illustrated in Figure 5. It may here be noted that in the illustrated arrangement, the connector 76 is connected to the pin 78 of the watch, but it will be apparent that the connecting arrangement could be reversed with the connector 76 being secured to the end of the watch band.

It should further be noted that as will be apparent from the drawing, each of the C-shaped elements 72 forms a locking element of sheet material disposed in the plane of the eorresponding groove 32 and having a cut-out portion 74 defining a recess for receiving the groove 32, the recess having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the groove and a rounded semi-circular base portion to thereby fit into the groove through an arcuate distance of at least 180 degrees.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious that a watch braeelet calendar constructed in accordance with my invention is particularly well adapted for use, by reason of the convenience and facility with which it may be assembled and operated, and it will also be obvious that my invention is susceptible of some change and modification without departing from the principles and spirit thereof, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise arrangement and formation of the several parts herein shown in carrying out my invention in practice, exeept as claimed.

I claim:

1. A braeelet indicating unit comprising a roller having calendar indicia thereon, said roller having openings extending into each end thereof in parallelism with and adjacent to the axis of the roller; and upper casing adapted to protect the upper side of the roller at a time when the watch attachment is placed on the wrist of the user, said casing having an opening therethrough whereby a user can see certain of said indicia, said casing having an open center for receiving said roller beneath said opening, said casing having end walls disposed at each end of said roller, said end walls having aligned holes therethrough disposed in alignment with the axis of said roller, said holes being circular in end view, and two crowns,

each crown being disposed extending through a respective different one of said holes, each crown having an outer portion adapted to be turned by the fingers of an operator and having an innermost portion adapted to fit into the opening in a respective end of said roller, each crown havingaan annular slot in the outer side thereof disposed in'portion of said crown outside of said roller and inside of the respective casing and wall, means for causing crowns and said roller to rotate in unison; means attached to said casing on one side of said roller for securing said casing to an end of a braeelet; a bottom cover disposed under said roller and secured to said casing, said cover being spaced away from each of said end walls slightly; means attached to each end of said cover for securing the respective ends of said cover to the respective ones of said crowns; and a yoke member having outwardly extending spaced apart hook portions extending respeetively into the respective spaces between said cover and said casing ends, said hook portions being hooked about respective crowns in said annular slots to prevent said crowns from moving outwardly and becoming disconnected from said casing, said yoke member having means attached to said yoke member for securing said yoke member to the bracelet pin of a watch.

2. An indicating unit described in claim 1 in which said roller is of polygonal shape having a plurality of fiat sides around its circumference for bearing said indicia.

3. An indicating unit as described in claim 1 in which a magnifying lens is disposed in said opening and fixed to the walls thereof.

4. An indicating unit as described in claim 1 in which said cover member is formed of resilient material and is arcuate having a concave upper side and a eonvex lower side, the uppermost end edges of said cover member being movable toward each other for convenience in assembling, and said casing is provided with shoulders disposed spaced upwardly of its underside edges, respectively, said Shoulders being for receiving innermost portions of said cover member.

5. In an indicating device, a roller having a plurality of indicia around the periphery thereof and a bore extending axially inwardly from one end face thereof, a casing having an open side for receiving said roller and having an end wall adjacent said end face of said roller, said end wall having an opening aligned with said bore, a crown having a head portion outside said casing and a shank portion extending through said opening into said bore, said shank portion having an annular groove therein outside said end face of said roller and inside said end wall of said casing, a locking element of sheet material disposed in the plane of said groove and having a cutout portion defining a recess for receiving said groove, said recess having a width substantially equal to the diameter of said groove and a rounded semi-circular base portion to fit into said groove through an arcuate distance of at least degrees, and a cover arranged to close said open side of said casing and hold said roller and locking element therewithin.

6. In an indicating device, a roller having a plurality of indicia around the periphery thereof and a bore extending axially inwardly from one end face thereof, a casing having an open side for receiving said roller and having an end wall adjacent said end face of said roller, said end wall having an opening aligned with said bore, a crown having a head portion outside said casing and a shank portion extending through said opening into said bore, said shank portion having an annular groove therein outside said end face of said roller and inside said end wall of said casing, a locking element of sheet material disposed in the plane of said groove and having a cutout portion defining a recess for receiving said groove, said recess having a width substantially equal to the diameter of said groove and a rounded semi-circular base portion to fit into said groove through an arcuate distance of at least 180 degrees, and a curved cover of resilient cover having opposite side edge portions sprung into engagement With internal surface portions of said casng to lock said cover and casing in assembly. 5

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 786,610 Terry Apr. 4, 1905 10 8 Zeba July 12, Kelly Dec. 4, Buettner Ian. 19, Johnson Aug. 26, Shapiro Apr. 23, Jahr et al. Aug. 25, Brunengraber July 3,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 14, 

